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A press release from Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on the Results of the Labour Force Survey , during 2017 said that the labour force participation rate of individuals aged 15 years and above was 45.5% in the year 2017.

The number of individuals participating in the labour force in Palestine was 1,374,600 in 2017; 870,000 in the West Bank and 504,600 in Gaza Strip.

The labour force participation rate in the West Bank was 45.6% and 45.2% in Gaza Strip, the gap in the participation rate between males and females in Palestine still very big where it reached 71.2% for males compared with 19.0% for females.

27.4% is the unemployment rate among labour force participants

Using ILO standards, the number of unemployed was 377,300 in 2017; distributed as 220,200 in Gaza Strip and 157,100 in the West Bank.

The unemployment rate in Gaza Strip was 43.6% compared with 18.1% in the West Bank in 2017, and the unemployment rate for males in Palestine was 22.3% compared with 47.4% for females.

The highest unemployment rate in 2017 was 44.6% among youth aged 20-24 years. For years of schooling, the highest unemployment rate among females with 13 years of schooling and more was 53.8%.

The number of the employment in the local market increased between 2016 and 2017

The number of employed in the local market increased from 861,200 in 2016 to 863,500 in 2017. The number of employed individuals in the West Bank increased by 7,500 employed, while the number of employed individuals in Gaza Strip decreased by 5,200 employed.

The services sector was the biggest employer in the local market with 32.7% in the West Bank and 53.3% in Gaza Strip.

The public sector employed 21.3% of those in employment; 36.5% in Gaza Strip and 15.2% in the West Bank.

The average daily wage for wage employees in the West Bank was 101.5 NIS compared with 59.4 NIS in Gaza Strip.

The average weekly hours worked by wage employees in the West Bank was 44.2 hour in 2017 and 44.3 hour in 2016. The average number of days worked per month was 22.9 and 22.8 working day in 2017 and 2016. The average number of hours worked per week in Gaza Strip was 37.6 and 38.3 hour per week in 2017 and 2016, and the average number of days worked per month was 22.6 and 22.7 working day in 2017 and 2016 respectively.

Number of employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was 130,700 in 2017

The number of employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was 130,700 in 2017 compared with 116,800 in 2016. Of these; 67,900 had a permit, 43,400 worked without any permit and 19,400 had an Israeli identity card or foreign passport.

The number of employees in the Israeli settlements increased to 22,100 in 2017 from 20,800 in 2016.

61.6% of employed in Israel and the Israeli settlements worked in the construction sector.

The average daily wage for the wage employees in Israel and the Israeli settlements reached 226.7 NIS in 2017 compared with 218.0 NIS in 2016.

The average number of hours worked per week in Israel and the Israeli settlements reached 41.6 hour in 2017 compared with 40.2 hour in 2016.

The average number of days worked per month reached 19.6 working day in 2017 and 2016.

Employment Status in 2017

70.5% of employed individuals are wage employees; 66.9% in the West Bank and 79.5% in Gaza Strip.

18.5% of employed individuals are self- employed; 20.2% in the West Bank and 14.1% in Gaza Strip.

6.5% of employed individuals are employers; 7.7% in the West Bank and 3.4% in Gaza Strip.

4.5% of employed individuals are unpaid family members; 5.2% in the West Bank and 3.0% in Gaza Strip.

25.3% of wage employees are hired by contract (8.7% of them with limited period and 16.6% with unlimited period), compared with 51.2% hired without any contract, and 23.5% of wage employees are hired by verbal agreement.